20-20: Fairy Tail
by tideofglory
Summary: Fairy Tail with a little bit more polish.


Lucy shielded her eyes as she stepped off the train at Port Hargeon.

"I'm halfway there." She said to herself confidently, "Let's see if I can't find some supplies before I plan the rest of my trip to Magnolia."

As she headed into town, another figure slowly eased his way off the train, his face incredibly pale.

"I hate trains." Natsu grumbled, "Why can't we all just live within walking distance of each other?"

After a brief break to calm his nausea, Natsu marched determinedly into town "You'd better be here Igneel."

* * *

Lucy stomped out of the town's lone magic shop very irritated.

"Only a 1000 Jewel discount?! Is that all my sex appeals worth?!"

She paused when she noticed a crowd of girls squealing in the distance. As she approached she saw multi-colored fires rising from the center of the crowd.

"~Salamander!~" the girls were squealing.

Lucy recognized that name. "He's a powerful fire mage who works with the Fairy Tail guild!"

As she approached she caught a glimpse of the mighty mage and was immediately captivated. His hair was an otherworldly blue, and his body was one that any sculptor would kill to have pose for them. His flames only accentuated his beauty, as the light made his figure look absolutely divine.

The crowd had also drawn the attention of Natsu, who began to feel excited when he saw the flames rising from the crowd.

"Igneel!" He called out, pushing his way through the crowd of women "Igneel is that you?!"

As he pushed through the crowd, Lucy felt that her heart was about to burst from witnessing Salamander's majesty, until Natsu's shoulder struck her and she felt her mind clear. As she took another look at Salamander, and realized that while he was undeniably tall and handsome, he was nowhere near as divine as she'd initially believed him to be.

Upon closer inspection, she recognized the energy coming from one of his earrings.

"A charm spell." she muttered.

Her attention was then drawn to the young man who'd made his way through the crowd toward Salamander. The two regarded one another for a moment.

"Who are you?" The young man asked in what seemed to be a mixture of confusion and disappointment.

The man seemed briefly taken aback by the lack of recognition. "Perhaps you know me by, Salamander?" He attempted suavely, handing the boy a slate with his autograph on it.

The boy looked at the slate dejectedly, then back at the man "You're not him." He sighed sadly before shoving his way back out of the crowd, ignoring the jeers from the women around him.

Salamander quickly tried to salvage the situation "I appreciate you're enthusiastic greetings ladies! But I have some errands at the port!"

A flame appeared at his feet and he began to hover above the crowd "We're having a party on the ship tonight! Hope to see you all there!"

Natsu glanced back at the departing fire mage "What is he?"

"Disgusting, that's what." Came a voice behind him.

Natsu turned to see a pretty blond girl with her hair in a side ponytail.

"Thanks for your help back there!"

* * *

Natsu wasn't sure what he was being thanked for, but he was never one to turn down a free meal.

Lucy began to feel slightly embarrassed at her savior's table manners as he tore into the food in front of him with gusto.

"So, Natsu right?" She began, hoping a conversation would make him slow down in his feasting. "That Salamander guy was using a charm spell to attract all those women to him. That magic was banned years ago, so I can't believe he'd be using it like that. But thanks to that jolt you gave me I was able to break out of it!"

"I shee" Natsu mumbled through his full mouth.

"Yeah," She nodded "I may not look like it, but I'm a mage myself!"

Natsu paused to regard her for a moment with a raised brow "What's a mage supposed to look like?"

Lucy shrugged "Oh, I'm sure most people expect weak, non-athletic types who get knocked down at the slightest breeze. Most knights could probably beat the average mage in a straight fight. But I'm not like that! Though I'm not part of any guild right now."

She continued talking since she'd never had the chance to have someone listen while she talked about this kind of thing before. "Guilds are associations that mediate jobs and information for mages. It's almost impossible for a mage to be taken seriously without being associated with a guild!"

Natsu continued to eat as she began on the topic of her dream guild "I've got my eye on joining Fairy Tail. They've got a reputation for being one of the strongest guilds, but also the most unruly and free-spirited. My home was so stuffy and dull that that kind of excitement seems like exactly what I need in my life!"

She suddenly realized how odd this conversation must have seemed to her company "I'm sorry, this must be going right over your head, huh? Weren't you looking for someone?"

Natsu raised his brow in amusement for a moment "Yeah, Igneel. I heard this Salamander guy was in town, and thought he might be him under a different name and disguise. But he was nothing like a salamander."

Now it was Lucy's turn to be confused "How's he supposed to be a salamander if he's a person?"

Natsu shrugged "Igneel's not human, he's a real salamander. A Dragon."

Lucy continued to feel apprehensive "What would a dragon be doing in the middle of town?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, having heard this one before "I said I thought he might be in disguise. Dragons can take human form." He sighed, as if this was knowledge everyone should have.

Lucy took this as her cue to leave. This man was clearly a nutjob.

"Well, I guess I'd better be going…" She said as she placed some money on the table "But go ahead and take your time."

Natsu regarded the money briefly, then the departing girl "Wait! Let me thank you for the meal."

Lucy continued to hurry away "D-don't worry, you helped me too! So we're even now okay?"

"But!" Natsu's protest was interrupted by the door closing.

* * *

Lucy was on her way to the train station to buy a ticket to Magnolia, where Fairy Tail was located. However, as she continued on, she began to get cold feet.

"How do I even join Fairy Tail? Do I have to learn some advanced magic? Or go through interviews?"

"I see, you want to join Fairy Tail?" Came a deep voice behind her.

"Salamander?!"

"I've been looking all over for you." The man stated politely.

"I know about you're charm spell so it won't work on me." Lucy insisted defiantly.

"I knew it! I knew I recognized a fellow mage!" the man said excitedly like a child who'd just met a new friend. "Don't worry about that little bit! That's just a way to weed out the ordinary women and weaker mages."

Lucy paused as the man continued "This party is also a way to recruit other mages to Fairy Tail." he explained "All you have to do is show up so we can get to know each other and I can find out if you're Fairy Tail material. And I think you've got a really good shot."

Lucy looked up at him hopefully "You really think I can make it in Fairy Tail?"

Salamander nodded enthusiastically "Absolutely, you broke my charm spell didn't you? But be sure not to tell anyone about it at the party. There may be other mages there, and we want them to break it on their own, otherwise they won't really be worthy, will they?"

Lucy decided not to mention how she also had help breaking the charm. "Okay! See you at the party!"

Salamander grinned as he headed off towards the harbor. Lucy still felt a little uncomfortable around the man, but figured it was just because she didn't know him well. "I just have to be friendly with him until I join."

* * *

Natsu trudged along near the docks. His belly was full, but now all he could think about was Igneel. Lucy had looked at him like he was a lunatic. He didn't want to believe he was, but everyone else he'd spoken too had never seen dragons before in their lives.

"Maybe I am just wasting my time." Natsu muttered in despair. "If that's the case, what have I been fighting and training for all this time?"

"Look! That's Salamander's ship!" Natsu overheard some girls talking and pointing at a ship just off the coast.

"That's the same Salamander from Fairy Tail, right?"

"That's what they say! Apparently he's recruiting mages for their guild too!"

Natsu narrowed his eyes at that, as his gaze once again drifted to the boat. He felt himself pale once again just looking at it. But…

"Fairy Tail..."

* * *

Lucy continued to grow uncomfortable as Salamander and she spoke together.

"Shouldn't you be tending to the other guests?"

He shrugged nonchalantly "That won't be necessary. You have my undivided attention."

He snapped his fingers and the wine in her glass floated up and formed semi-solid pearls. "Open you're mouth and try these pearls of wine." He goaded her gently.

Lucy decided to play along for now, and allowed the pearls to approach her mouth, until she sensed another magic aside from levitation magic.

She quickly swatted the pearls away. "That wine had some sort of sleeping spell on it didn't it?!" She demanded furiously.

Salamander's grin began to falter "You are good." he sneered. "But you should've taken the wine. It would have made the trip to Bosco much easier for you."

Lucy suddenly found both her arms seized, and turned to find several crew members behind her.

"Wha-?!"

"Nice going 'Salamander'" one of the crewmen said sarcastically "Usually you're charm spell is enough to bring in the merchandise, but it would've been a shame to miss out on this one just because she had a little magic on her."

Salamander sneered down at Lucy as he agreed "She may be a mage, but she fell for my little recruitment offer hook, line and sinker."

Lucy cringed as he searched her and came across her key ring. "I see, you're a celestial spirit summoner."

"Th' hell's that?" one of the crewmen asked.

"Nothing you boys need to worry about." Salamander waved him off "All you need to know is that she's useless without these." He then tossed the keys out the boats window.

Lucy felt her heart shatter. It didn't take a genius to guess what fate awaited her.

" _I thought I could handle myself and make it alone"_ she thought " _but I'm weak, and stupid. I have no idea how to survive."_

Suddenly, the roof of the cabin caved in, and a body crashed into the midst of the crewmen.

"Natsu?!" Lucy called in shock. "How did you get here?!"

"I flew!" Natsu explained, lashing out at every crew member within his reach. "Unfortunately, it was something of a one way trip! We have to get this boat to shore!"

With that, Natsu grabbed Lucy and tried to pull her towards the door, until a wall of flames cut them off. The two turned to see Salamander waving his arms, flames at his finger-tips.

"Nobody's going anywhere!" he growled.

Natsu narrowed his eyes at the man, and rushed at him, but recoiled as he found another wall of flame blocking his path. "Damn boat!" he muttered in frustration.

The rest of Salamander's goons began to converge on him, as Lucy tried to formulate a plan. Her gaze finally fell on the window Salamander threw her keys out of, and realized she only had one chance. She quickly bolted for the window, unnoticed by Salamander until she was already diving headfirst out of it.

"What the- That stupid girl!" Salamander groaned. "There's no way she'll make it to shore in that dress!"

Natsu also glanced towards the window in annoyance "Great, fine, just leave me to fight all these guys by myself!"

Outside, Lucy was desperately holding her breath as she descended, desperately searching for her keys. She was just about to lose hope when she saw the moonlight catch something and gave one last burst of speed towards it. Her vision was just beginning to fade when she finally seized the keys and said in her head " **Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"**

No sooner had these thoughts left her mind, then a blue haired mermaid erupted into being and hoisted Lucy to the surface. Lucy took a deep gulp of air as they surfaced.

"Thanks Aquarius!" She gasped gratefully, only to be shoved away by the furious spirit.

"You little brat!" She seethed "What were you thinking losing my key?!"

Lucy cringed at the harsh tone "sorry ma'am."

"What good are we spirits too you if you don't have our keys?! And for that matter, what good are you to us if you can't take care of yourself enough to even hold onto us?!"

"I'm sorry, but listen!" Lucy interjected hurriedly "We need to get that ship ashore! There's a bunch of hostages there, and only one guy to fight off the entire crew!"

Aquarius growled "Fine, you want it ashore, I'll get it ashore! **Torrent!** "

She swung her urn ferociously at the water, and a massive wave of water picked up the boat and Lucy along with it, sending both speeding to shore.

As Natsu continued to fight for his life, he suddenly felt the boat he was on lurch, and desperately tried to tame the churning in his stomach. It was then he felt the boat land with a mighty crash, and picked himself up, ready to keep fighting. A quick glance out the window showed him that they had come ashore. A vicious grin spread across his face.

"What happened Bora?" One of the crewmen asked.

"I don't know!" The man who called himself Salamander responded. "Let's just finish this guy and get out of here! **Prominence Typhoon!** "

A spiral of flame engulfed Natsu, and a chunk of the ship with him. Lucy had just picked herself up when the side of the ship erupted in a spiral of flames. She braced herself for battle, only to be shocked as the flames began to recede. At the center of the flames, stood Natsu, seemingly slurping them down like noodles.

"Bleagh!" Natsu groaned as the flames disappeared down his throat entirely, leaving everyone in attendance dumbfounded "You call that fire? You're a joke!"

"How dare you?!" "Salamander" demanded in outrage. "I am the great Salamander of Fairy Tail! I'm the greatest fire mage in all of Fiore!"

His rant was halted by a flaming fist to his face.

"I think it's time I set the record straight for you pal, because you're definitely not Salamander of Fairy Tail!" Natsu commanded furiously "First of all, Salamander doesn't do boats. Or trains. Or any other kind of transportation if he can help it, because it's almost impossible for him to use his magic aboard them!.

Natsu sent a wall of flame at the impostor, who dove aside just in time to avoid the blow which destroyed an even bigger portion of the boat than the one he'd destroyed.

"Second of all!" The pink haired man continued "Salamander doesn't go around chasing anyone in a skirt! His heart is set on one woman, and one woman only!"

Several crewmen tried to come to their bosses aid, only to be ferociously tossed aside by a massive wall of flame.

"And finally! To call Salamander a measly Fire Mage doesn't come close to doing him justice!" A feral glare spread across his face as he his body became engulfed in hellish flames "Natsu Dragneel, the true Salamander of Fairy Tail, is a Fire Dragon Slayer!"

Lucy was awestruck as Natsu's coat burned away, revealing the emblem on his right shoulder. The emblem of Fairy Tail.

The fake Salamander attempted to crabwalk away in terror, babbling for his life "I-i'm sorry sir! I had no idea it was you! My name is Bora the Prominence, and I assure you I only imitated you out of flattery."

"See I thought it might be something like that!" Natsu growled "I heard about someone called Salamander hanging out in this town, and thought you might be someone I knew, since I did get the nickname from him. Then I saw you and thought you were probably just some novice mage who didn't know the name was taken, or maybe some poser trying to get lucky by impersonating a celebrity!"

Natsu's flames flared up once again "It never occured to me that some human trafficking scum would be stupid enough to try and use my name to lure in victims this close to Magnolia! But it wasn't just my name you dragged into it! It was my guilds name too!"

Lucy turned to Aquarius as the flames continued to build as well as Natsu's rage. "Have another torrent ready, I might need it."

Meanwhile, Bora had realized his only chance of survival was to fight.

" **HELL PROMINENCE!** " he shouted desperately, casting his most powerful flames at his enemy.

" _ **FIRE DRAGONS ROAR!"**_ an inferno erupted from Natsu's mouth and engulfed Bora's flames, before destroying what remained of Bora's cabin, as well as his cloak and covering his body in burns. Natsu quickly followed up the attack by bursting out of the flames and pinning Bora to the ground, where he began to rain down vicious blows on his enemy

" _ **YOU TRIED TO DRAG FAIRY TAIL'S NAME THROUGH THE MUD AND FOR THAT YOU MUST PAY!**_ " Natsu's roar was deafening as he continued to assault Bora, whose face was quickly becoming unrecognizable, until another splash of water descended on both men, and a hand grasped Natsu's shoulder. He turned, to see Lucy there, clearly terrified, but trying to be brave.

"That's enough" She said firmly "The kingdom's knights will be here, soon, and they'll see him brought to justice."

Natsu grit his teeth, wanting to keep going.

"If you really want to honor Fairy Tail, don't soil it's name by killing him."

Natsu softened at that, and stood up from Bora's half-dead body. No sooner had he risen then he heard the sound of marching in the distance.

"We have to go!" He quickly grabbed Lucy's hand and began to drag her away from the scene.

"Wait, where are we going?!"

"You want to join Fairy Tail, right?"

Lucy was shocked at the idea. Thoughts of joining Fairy Tail had all but disappeared from her mind. "But… I'm just some brat who got tired of home. I don't know how to take care of myself, let alone work with a guild!"

Natsu's grin widened "That's what a guilds for! It's not just a way to get jobs or whatever you said earlier! It's a family, where everyone looks out for one another!"

Lucy grinned, and the two ran off before the knights could arrive to question them.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you guys enjoyed that! There's a lot of things to like about Fairy Tail, but it's another one of those series that I feel could've done with a little more polish. So this is my version. Nothing super special, just one of those "how I would have done it" fics, though I don't think my changes will be quite as dramatic as other fics out there. Hope this peaks some people's interest.**


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